The Republican Party is making a concerted effort to get real after Tuesday’s crushing special-election loss in Mississippi, but the challenge will be agreeing on how to move forward with a new agenda.

The GOP is in a state of upheaval after Democrat Travis Childers’s stunning 54-46 runoff win over Republican Greg Davis in a very conservative district, and it immediately stopped trying to mask that fact after Tuesday’s result was clear.

But despite the stiff dose of reality — and House GOP Leader John Boehner’s (Ohio) Tuesday suggestion that sizable changes could be on the way at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) — little changed immediately Wednesday as Republicans moved past what they hope will be their last competitive special election before November.

…snip…

[NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.)] said the GOP’s recent special-election problems have more to do with a deficiency in the party’s message and a loss of confidence in its ability to deliver.

Ummmm, I think that people got the party’s message loud and clear from these guys….Original DVD cover.

Boehner and Cole both issued blunt and sober statements after the third Democratic takeover in two months Tuesday. Numerous GOPers, including Boehner, were characterizing the result as a “wake-up call” and casting their task as avoiding a fast-approaching rock bottom.

Republicans didn’t offer many excuses for their loss, instead saying it provides an opportunity for the party to take stock of its damaged brand and re-evaluate the difficult six months ahead.

Cole admitted late Tuesday night that “voters remain pessimistic about the direction of the country and the Republican Party in general.”

Reps. Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) launched a process intended to change that by introducing a family values agenda Wednesday, and Boehner sent a memo around last week debuting the slogan “the change you deserve.” But nothing concrete has been established as a departure from the party’s past messaging.

Oh, yeah, that family values argument is working so well for you! Ask Vito Fossella….when he sobers up and finishes changing the diaper of his illegitimate daughter.

Tuesday’s loss was particularly painful for Republicans, who blamed previous losses in Illinois and Louisiana on flawed GOP candidates. This time, they had a solid candidate with plenty of money and lots of help, including a Monday visit from Vice President Dick Cheney.

All these factors left the GOP with few excuses to roll out after an eight-point loss in a district that voted 62 percent for President Bush in 2004.

…snip…

Despite the shift in rhetoric, the GOP isn’t ready to abandon its strategy of attaching Democratic candidates to Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whom it maintains are albatrosses in the many conservatives House districts in play this year.

The strategy didn’t appear to work in either Louisiana or Mississippi, where ads were run linking the conservative Democrats to Obama and Pelosi. Cole said it’s “still a useful tool,” but that it’s not a stand-in for an actual agenda.

(By the way, my dearest Raisinettes, if you are wondering who is pictured above, from left to right, in ANIMAL: Bob Ney, Randall “Duke” Cunningham, and Katherine Harris. From left to right in HOUSE: Rick Renzi, Mark Foley, John Doolittle, and Vito Fossella. Of course, you recognize Boo-hoo John Boner Boehner in front.)

Don’t forget, kids, it’s Wednesday, and that means I’ve got something for you over at American Street!

17 responses to “Party Animals”

I’m surprised that old Boo Hoo didn’t burst into tears after the big loss in MS last night. I fully expected a press conference on the steps of the Capitol this morning, Boo Hoo shedding copious crocodile droplets, the rest of the rethugs hovering behind him humming “Battle Hymn of the Republic” with Old Glory waving wanly at half-mast in the background. It would certainly be more productive than anything else they’ve done in the past 8 years, and vastly more entertaining…..

why just have old glory in the background? why not recreate iwo jima with rethugs playing all the parts? it would be so touching, it would bring boehner to tears. oh wait, everything brings boo-hoo boner to tears! :)
hey, gotta, the fundies are angry at me. they are leaving me nasty little comments. come over if you want to help me……laugh my ass off!! :lol: they are over at the gospel of bling diary.

You mean the diary they were in the other day? If not, send me a link by email and I’ll go there. You know I’ll always go to battle for you, darlin’.

Can you get WordPress to boot them if they keep it up? They’re basically harassing you now just because they can. It’s not like they’re going to convert you and they’re not going to listen to anything you say. They’re sincere….sincerely insane.

gotta,
i can delete the comments and report them as spammers, but it’s too much fun to see how they act when they get pissy. i think it shocks their little nervous systems to get a dose of reality instead of the constant stream of bible verses they are used to. no need to comment, but you can amuse yourself by reading their hilarity here.

no, nons, if you’re having fun, then don’t ditch them. I find them amusing, as well. It seems to confuse them to have people smarter than a rock to talk to. I love confusing them.

Thanks for the link, though. I’d have been all night trying to find that diary. And they’re all freepers in that one. The other one, too, most likely, but there’s a subtle difference between the bible spouters and the idiot freepers. The bible spouters need to be taken on in the only language that matters to them. The others are just cannon fodder. I played in both.

gotta,
both diaries can be found easily. just go to the front page and look under top posts. the freepers are keeping both alive. :lol: that’s the funniest thing. if they would stop visiting them, they would probably just fade away into obscurity. i think the new thing that wordpress is doing, providing links to possibly related posts, brought them over. i hope they keep coming over. they are very entertaining. :wink:

:oops:
forgot to add–i am going to check the polls every day to see how von stein (boo-hoo’s opponent) is doing. if he is doing well, i am going to buy stock in kimberly-clark (kleenex) and procter & gamble (puffs).

sorry about that nightowl,
for some reason, it seems that when there is more than one link, the spam filter thinks a comment is spam. i just rescued it. always let me know when a comment doesn’t show up, because lately there is tons of spam, and i don’t want to accidentally delete a legitimate comment in error.
i saw laura dern on the colbert report last night. she plays old kathy harris in the movie. living in floriduhhhhh, i am very interested in seeing it.